I need to contract. It brings in a reasonable amount of guaranteed money which I can rely on to cover my bills each month. However I'm beginning to feel seriously unwanted there. I know I left, I had my reasons, one of which was there was no work at the time and it seemed fair to all parties concerned. Yes I was also a little unhappy with the office politics and the way some people are treated there. But most of the people are nice people to work with and 2-3 days a week is bearable for me to dress smartly and go to work (that's my own problem, nothing to do with the office!).

However recently all I hear is one of the managers asking how much I'm costing them. Being told to accurately write down everything I do so the accountant can see where my time is being spent (how to say 'we don't trust you'). And being reminded constantly that I'm "just a contractor" and I'm apparently getting paid a lot more than everyone else in the office. Strange because I've worked it out pro rata if I was an employee, at the equivalent of approximately £24k which is an average wage for what I do. Trouble is these people don't think about various factors and just hear the hourly rate. I don't get paid 4 weeks holiday, I don't get paid sick pay (5 days average per year), and the company doesn't have to pay 12% employers NICs, suddenly there's around £5k that would be paid out otherwise that isn't because I'm a contractor.

Plus I work very hard there and constantly feel like I'm being watched. I've increased visitors to their web site and other work has saved time doing various tasks which increases productivity, equals a lot more than a measily £24k per year. I'm so on the edge with this subject that the next time it's mentioned I'm just gonna explode. I know I shouldn't and I bite my tongue constantly but how to make some feel unappreciated!

I had my notice through. I\'m due in court for a hearing on the 24th August. Makes me wonder what man has managed to say to get a hearing out of this. Well I get a copy of his evidence and documents by Wednesday 27th so I\'ll see then. I\'m not looking forward to receiving his documents or going to court. Even though I know i\'m in the right it\'s still a hard thing to go through purely because he doesn\'t seem to have any concern. I don\'t understand why people can be so cold hearted.

People I\'ve spoke to tell me \'that\'s business\'. No I\'m sorry, that\'s pig ignorance and a disgusting way to act. I don\'t consider a decent human being to act in this way. It\'s not even like he needs the money. He owns his house outright in Kingston, sorry it\'s not a house it\'s a mansion! The money I\'m claiming is pocket change to him. Fine he\'s earnt it fair and square, that\'s no problem to me, but why fight something you know to be wrong? If he seems to think he\'s in the right then I can\'t even understand how he got to where he is in business now.

So now I have to go through the process of photocopying all of my evidence and documents again. I\'ve gotten two other clients to write letters to state they knew I lived in Wales since last May (one of his arguments was that he didn\'t know) and that it\'s not affected my work or attendance (another of his arguments which is a complete lie). Still my Mum (my rock at times like these) is coming up and I\'m sure we\'ll hit the shops after regardless of the outcome. It\'s money I\'ve never seen at the end of the day so if I win I\'ll spend it!

I sometimes despair with certain clients. I currently have this one account – originally it was run by a guy in this country who has 4 other web sites with me. No problems, everything ran smoothly etc. Then the guy in charge decided his daughter was going to do the design (shame she can\'t actually design) and collate all of the information and provide it all to me to create the web site. Trouble is a seriously lack of communication between Dad and daughter, and both were foreign and their written english was not the easiest to understand. So I peservered and did everything I could as quoted for. Then they asked why it wasn\'t live. Well a website that\'s only 25% complete if that should not be live. Last instruction was to make the web site live.

Then the other day I had an email telling me there were 1000 documents to go online and would be provided in word document format. So when I came back with a price for the whole lot I got an email saying the agreement was 2000 euros per year paid for the upkeep of the website regardless of how much work comes through!

So I\'ve basically told them where to go. I can\'t take a risk when I know work like that can be given to me and I have no say on the price. I sometimes wonder if these people actually use their heads and realise that work takes time and time equals money. I\'m happy to quote for work when I know what it is but not agree to a price and see what happens.

Okay My Profile, so you know a little about me…

Name: Sarah
DOB: 05/05/1977
Current Job: Full Time Freelance Web Developer
Qualifications: BSc Hons Mathematics and Computers, Austrian Ski Instructor, Level 1
University: Glamorgan, Wales
Drives: MCC Smart Pure (View Car)
Speaks: English, German
Height: 1.65m, 5'5"
Weight: Yeah right!
Residence: Between Cardiff, Wales and Cheshire

I could write my whole CV out but I figured a little background info would help to understand the odd comments I tend to make.

Living:
I've lived in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire for a lot of my life, Germany (RAF barracks) for 5 years, Austria for 3 winter seasons, Pontypridd (Wales), Cardiff (Wales) and now Cheshire. I've moved around a lot, and moving is not as stressful to me as it seems to be for everyone else!

I've just moved (Dec 2005) to Cheshire to share a house with Dave and his housemate. A change of scenery and more comfortable than the last place.

Relationship Status:
Am with Dave, totally by accident!, fantastic man who I now live with full time.

Working:
Well I'm self employed. I don't want to take on a permanent job. Each month I'm not falling further into debt so why should I pimp myself out to some big corporation who will put pressure on me and not care about me. I enjoy what I do and I get a buzz out of working for myself. I'm in charge of my life – if I want to work tomorrow I will, if I don't fancy it I'll chuck a DVD on. If I have to work I'll get it done, it's not like I have work mounting up (actually as of today – 19/11/2005 I do!), but I'm not going to work myself to the bone for it.

Socialising:
Yes I do plenty of that. We usually can be found on a friday evening in a bar in Cardiff called 'Is It?', and sometimes during the week too. The company I contract at twice a week has a sociable lot and the group who goes out get on quite well. Yes we sit and bitch about others, moan about some work, like most work groups do. Because most of us are women however, some of the talk will venture on to men (why but of course!).

Fitness:
I'm a member of Fitness First gym. I pay once a month and rarely go! I used to be a real sports enthusiast, sprinter, tennis, badminton, hockey, football, netball, cross country, athletics. However now I don't get to do much. I'd like to get back into a couple of sports but it's finding where to go. I'm intending to switch to a cheaper gym that's just around the corner from me, and make a concerted effort to start going again. Maybe go jogging to Tescos when I need a few things (nothing heavy!). If I could ski all year round I'd be great as that's the most easiest form of exercise I've come across!